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AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

PHILIPPINES STUDY TRIP

23 September – 2 October 2017

TOUR LEADERS: Dr. Gemma Tulud Cruz and Dr. Edmund Chia

ACU COURSE CREDITS:1

MRED, MED, MEDLEA, GDTHST, and Students on Cross-Institutional Enrolment: THEL620: Special Studies in Theology A and THEL640 Special Studies in Theology B for Professional Term 7, 2017 (201770).2

MATL and MTHST Students: Option 1: THEL620: Special Studies in Theology A and THEL640 Special Studies in Theology B for Professional Term 7, 2017 (201770).

Option 2: THEL621: Theology Project A and THEL622: Theology Project B for Professional Term 7, 2017 (201770).3

Option 3: THEL623: Theology Project C for Professional Term 7, 2017 (201770).4

APPLICATIONS AND ENROLMENT: Enrolment for 2017 is now open. If you wish to join the study-trip you need to enrol in the appropriate unit codes indicated above after securing a successful application with the Tour Leader: [email protected]. Please email Gemma to receive a copy of the application form and for all information related to the study-trip.

COST, PAYMENT, AND REBATES The tour cost is $3500 (twin share). However, all participants will receive a generous rebate. See also the document on Cost for more details on other costs involved, e.g. tuition fee.

ACTIVITIES BEFORE AND AFTER THE TRIP: Adobe Connect sessions will be offered before the study-trip to help prepare the participants. Moreover, a LEO page for the study-trip will be established for information and help in relation to the trip and in relation to the assessments for the unit.

1 The study-trip is also available on an audit basis with reduced tuition fees. 2 Education students need to secure the approval of their Course Coordinator prior to enrolling in the study-trip. 3 Theology Postgrad Course Coordinator (Dr. Christiaan Jacobs Vandegeer) needs to be emailed that you want to enroll in THEL621 and THEL622 for Prof. Term 7. 4 Pre-requisite, i.e. successful completion of THEL619, applies. Theology Postgrad Course Coordinator (Dr. Christiaan Jacobs Vandegeer) needs to be emailed that you want to enroll in THEL623 for Prof. Term 7. 2

ASSESSMENTS (for credit students only):5 Assessment Weighting Due Date Assessment 1 15% Pre-departure Assessment 2 35% 2 weeks after the trip Assessment 3 50% 5 weeks after the trip

PHILIPPINES ITINERARY6

23 September (Saturday):  arrive in  students will be picked up from the airport

24 September (Sunday)  9:00-10:00am – Opening Liturgy and Meeting  10am-12noon - Manila Tour - Exploration of Manila for a sense of the history, particularly colonial history and legacy, of the Philippines and how Catholic plays a vital role in the life of the country. Sites include and , Manila , and San Agustin Church and Museum, the oldest church in the Philippines which is also on the UNESCO World Heritage site.  Lunch at Ristorante delle Mitre – a unique restaurant on the compound of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines managed by a religious sister, which has Catholic religious paraphernalia on display and serves dishes named after the favorite dishes of Filipino cardinals, bishops and other religious leaders.  Quiapo - visit to the Minor of , a central site of Filipino Catholicism, for an experience of Filipino popular piety, particularly the idea of religion as the “sigh of the oppressed,” and the relationship between commerce and religion in a poor urban context. Participants will have a sense of Filipino devotional piety by witnessing and/or joining devotees/pilgrims in lining up to touch the feet of the allegedly miraculous icon.  North Cemetery for a sense of creative survival and a different form of urban poverty. The North Cemetery is home to about 10,000 people who live among the dead.  at Church - a thriving church in the middle of upscale malls  Visit to Our Lady of Hope Chapel – a chapel in a department store  Dinner at Ayala Centre  Reading/study/writing time and consultation with LIC

25 September (Monday)  Visit to Assumption College, a prestigious all female Catholic school offering kindergarten, primary, secondary, and undergraduate education that is run by the Sisters of the Religious of the Assumption. It is where former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo and daughters of the political and business elite in the Philippines study basic education. Activities during the visit include joining the weekly general assembly of the primary school and conversation with administration, the staff of the Centre for Social Involvement, Religious Education teachers, etc. for a sense of “school life” and the social justice component of Catholic education in an affluent

5 ACU Theology students who enrol in the study-trip using project unit codes will do assessments as indicated in the generic unit outline for the unit codes. 6 Itinerary may be subject to slight change due to circumstances beyond the organizer’s control. 3

school in an urban context. Classroom observations will also be arranged for those who are interested.  Lunch at Assumption College  Tuloy sa Don Bosco, a school for streetchildren for a sense of the issues plaguing young driven to the streets by poverty, family problems, etc and how a multisectoral effort led by the Salesians have made a difference in many former street children’s lives. Tuloy sa Don Bosco is a 4.5-hectare former garbage dumpsite in Alabang given to the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2001 and turned by the Catholic religious congregation Society of Don Bosco (or Salesians) into “a dream place for poor children” — a sprawling, modern compound complete with 10 residential structures, a school building, technical vocational skills workshops, multi-purpose complex, culinary center, chapel, and football field. At present, more than 800 kids avail of the non-formal academic and vocational schooling at Tuloy, while 240 youngsters rescued from the streets call it their home.  Dinner at Barbara’s in Intramuros – with a cultural performance of Philippine dances  Debriefing and reflection session  Reading/study/writing time and consultation with LIC

26 September (Tuesday)  Tour (tour of the financial capital of the Philippines): cruise through historic Ayala Avenue as well as Makati’s exclusive gated communities and Evangelista Street for a sense of the life of the country’s economic elites and the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty in one place.  Cruise along William Howard Taft Avenue (on the way to Smokey Mountain): a major road in Manila that has a number of Christian and, in particular, Catholic institutions of learning along it. Input on the intersections of Spanish and American colonial legacies as well as the character and role of Catholic education in the Philippines, particularly the role of priests, nuns or religious sisters and brothers as could be gleaned from the Christian and Catholic schools along Taft Avenue such as De La Salle University, College of Saint Benilde, Saint Scholastica’s College, Institute of Women’s Studies, Philippine Women’s University, Santa Isabel College, and Adamson University.  Slums Tour – a tour of the urban poor community built in and around the former Smokey Mountain, which used to be Manila’s largest garbage dumpsite, for a sense of the life and social problems of the urban poor as well as their struggle for a better life with the help of NGOs (non- government organizations), the , and other faith-based organizations.  Debriefing and reflection session  Dinner at hotel  Reading/study/writing time and consultation with LIC

27 September (Wednesday)  Travel to Pangasinan – a province or regional area 6 hours north of Manila  On the way to Pangasinan: Cruise through EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) to see the EDSA , Monument, and the 3.8km peace mural (the world’s longest peace mural) along EDSA for a sense of the intersection of civil society, politics, and religion in the Philippines and the multisectoral quest for social justice among Filipinos. The EDSA 1 Revolution, which overthrew the corrupt dictator , is known worldwide for its peaceful and bloodless nature and the role of religion, particularly the Catholic Church, in the revolution. The EDSA Shrine is the church that was built to recognize Catholicism’s critical role in 4

EDSA 1. The EDSA Shrine became the gathering place in the revolution that ousted corrupt president .  Tentative: An audience with Bro. Armin Luistro, F.S.C., a La Salle brother who is the former president of the prestigious Dela Salle University and former Minister of Education of the Philippines  Stop at Bacolor for a visit to the half-sunken San Guillermo Church – a church half- buried by lahar (volcanic ash) during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Mass and other church rituals are still conducted in the church.  Dinner at hotel  Reading/study/writing time and consultation with LIC

28 September (Thursday)  Lingayen Capitol Tour – have a sense of the links of the province with Australia during the war.  Visit to Saint Columban’s Institute, a struggling Catholic school, for a sense of the challenges of Catholic education in the Philippines, particularly in regional areas. Activities include conversation with the principal, meeting and talking to teachers and students, classroom visit, etc.  Lunch  Visit to Estanza Primary School, a public/government school, for a sense of the challenges of rural/regional life and public education in the Philippines. Activities include conversation with the principal, meeting and talking to teachers and students, classroom visit, and participation in the feeding of underweight students as part of the school’s feeding program. Participants will also have a deeper sense of rural/village life by walking through parts of the neighborhood around the school, as they walk with teachers and schoolchildren going home after school.  Debriefing and reflection session at Lingayen Beach  Dinner at Capitol Hotel Restaurant along Lingayen Beach  Reading/study/writing time and consultation with LIC

29 September (Friday)  Manaoag - visit to the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, a central site of Filipino Catholicism, for an experience of Filipino popular piety, particularly the idea of religion as the “sigh of the oppressed,” and the relationship between commerce and religion in a regional context. Participants will have a sense of Filipino devotional piety by witnessing and/or joining devotees/pilgrims in lining up to touch the cloak of the allegedly miraculous Marian icon.  Tentative: An audience with Bishop , bishop of the Archdiocese of Lingayen- Dagupan and current president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)  Talk of Rev. Dr. Mel Braga, a priest in the of Alaminos City, who holds a Ph.D from the Gregorian University in Rome and is the director of Colegio De San Jose, a Catholic college owned by the diocese which offers primary, secondary, and undergraduate education.  Debriefing and reflection session  Reading/study/writing time and consultation with LIC

30 September (Saturday)  Hotel check-out  Travel back to Manila  Stopover at Monasterio de Tarlac – a monastery of male and female Filipino monks located on top of Mount Resurrection in San Jose Tarlac. The monastery is a popular religious destination 5

among Filipinos. It contains a Relic of the Holy Cross of Jesus and has a 278 hectare ecotourism park.  Personal Time  Dinner at Singing Cooks and Waiters  Reading/study/writing time and consultation with LIC

1 October (Sunday)  Conversation with Mrs. Socorro Villafania, MA – former teacher and high school principal, Assumption College; former dean of student affairs, Assumption College; former accreditor for Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU); currently retired and involved in volunteer work in training teachers. Mrs. Villafania and her husband were also the only invited lay participants from the Philippines at the Synod on the family held at the Vatican in 2015.  12noon onwards – Personal Time (shopping, Mass, packing, etc)  Dinner at Hotel  Final Group Debriefing, Reflection, and Synthesis Session  Reading/study/writing time and consultation with LIC

2 October (Monday):  leave for Australia  students will be dropped off at the airport